It's Just Me
by OlympusGirl101
Summary: Jessica has been alone for all these years, and has never known the outside world other than her mountain. But could she use some help? Could her mother be someone she's only dreamed about knowing?
1. Chapter 1

I look up at the green meadows, and think of home. I stand on a mountain, overlooking the forest. I let the summer breeze pull my hair back. I am alone. I have nothing to lose.

I hike back down the mountain, and reach a cave I decide would be my shelter for tonight. I observe it carefully, making sure it was completely isolated, so I won't have to fight a bear or something. I place a worn blanket on the hard floor of the cave, and will myself to fall asleep, but I can't. I can't get the memories out of my head; lost on a shipwreck. Of course, that happened a year ago, and I could say I was an expert on survival. I've always been able to talk to animals, though before the shipwreck no one believed me. I stare at a crawling ant, and let it climb on my finger.

I lift it right up to my face, and murmur, "At least I have you. At least I'm not _all _alone." I look at the ant carefully, and an idea springs into my head. I rush out of the cave, bringing my nearly empty backpack with me. Inside, there was medicine, a blanket, a flashlight and a silver dagger, now coated with blood due to my past attacks. There used to be food in there, but it had long run out. I rush through the meadows and zig zag through the trees, and I see the beautiful plants in front of me. On them are ripe berries, around them are herbs I could use as medicine. I look around, wondering where to start picking. I pick one, and look more closely at both the plant and the berry. Then, I gasp. I should've known. The plant, the belladonna, was extremely toxic- and so was the berry, the Deadly Nightshade. _Wait a second, wasn't my name Donna? Or Bella? _ I think hopefully. I've been trying to remember my name, or anything other than the fact that I was lost at the shipwreck, but nothing seems to work. So far, I just named myself Woman, since I don't remember. But that was just me, being curious like that. I shouldn't have come, the hunger just won for a second. At least I had the mind to look at it before eating a deadly plant. I remember the herb, so I start packing it in my backpack. I was sure it was thyme; I faintly remember about a year ago when I got hungry and started eating it.

I push the thought out of my mind. I had to focus on what was important, getting a decent meal. I take out my silver dagger and start walking. There has to be at least one dear or squirrel I could eat. I spot a flash of orange and red, and almost instantly recognize it as a fox. I aim my dagger, and throw it directly at the fox's heart. I see the fox collapse, and walk over to it. I lay my hand on it's heart, and it's completely still. _Yes! _my mind screams. _Best meal in a month! _Technically, it was my only meal in a month (_How did I survive that long?_). I got lucky today, usually there isn't food around the top of the mountain. I make a fire, and cook it till it's nice and warm. I eat half the fox, and save the rest for later. I try looking for more to eat, but my belly is full. I go hunting for herbs and edible plants, hoping to find something for the future, while I was still well fed and healthy. I find a trail of raspberries, leading straight through the trees. That seemed odd, not only that there was a trail, bit raspberries didn't grow in this section of the mountain. I take out my dagger again, and follow the trail. I don't bother to pick them up, because who knows what kind of poison they (whoever left the trail) sprayed over them? It leads me toward an open space, though the sky covered by the tall trees. I was beautiful, there were flowers growing everywhere. I gaze up at the treetops, just in time for a blinding light to come at me. I stumble backwards, and cover my eyes.

"My beloved daughter!" a voice booms. Then, as fast as it came, it was all over. Then, I remember my name. I'm not Woman, I'm not just me, I'm someone, which another person has cared enough to claim, to name. I am Jessica. Tears well up in my eyes, happy someone else in this world knows I'm alive, but I'm determined not to make the tears fall. I was strong. I sprint back to the cave and lie down. This time, though, sleep finds me, and I accept it gratefully.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you everyone! Thanks CrazyGirl101 for reviewing! (You made history for me). Again, Reviews are loved! Sorry about this chapter. Had a little writers block.**

I flutter my eyes open, and see light flowing through the opening of the cave. I grab my pack and take a step outside, breathing in the fresh air. As usual, I hike up to the peak of the mountain, and once again admire it's beauty. I take a little bit of the fox from yesterday, and take a huge bite. I want to take another, but I stop myself. Instead I hike back to the cave. I have nothing to do; I've done all the hunting for a week, and collected enough herbs to last me a lifetime. Survival can be tough, but equally boring. My mind wanders off the subject and into the voice I heard. I wonder if it was a dream or an illusion, but it all seemed too real. _Jessica. That's my name. I am Jessica. _I repeat it on my mind over and over again, still in disbelief. I wondered who my mother was. Was she somewhere out there, looking for me? Did she miss me? Who was my father?

I ignore my own thoughts, and try to find my surroundings. I remember the place really well. This was the same place I heard the voice. I climb a tall tree, and leap onto one of the tallest branches. Here I can see even better than the peak, but at a different angle. Not so far away, I saw strange things, big shelters, except they have colors on them. I squinted, trying to see more, but all I saw were humans, like me. I stopped myself. _Humans? Like me? What if my mothers there, in this far place? What if I actually have a strange shelter there? _Hope bubbles inside of me, and rises into my chest. I would go hunting just once again, then I'll have enough food to explore that place.

I start to climb down the tree, quickly but carefully. I touch the ground with my bare feet, and then grab my backpack off the floor. I must've dropped here before climbing the tree. I stroll past all the other trees, but one catches my attention. There was a piece of paper stuck to it, with a woman's picture on it. She had long dark hair, that was braided down her back, exactly like mine.

"Katniss Everdeen." I read out loud. My voice surprised myself. I didn't know I could read the strange figures. _English! It's written in English! _My mind cheers happily, and I start to remember. I faintly remember the golden hair of my father, his name was Peeta. I don't know much about Katniss or Peeta, but I decide that I would find them in the far away land. I could, I would. One thing was certain, though: I will find my family, no matter what it takes.


	3. Chapter 3

**The chapters are getting a little longer now. As always, reviews are loved!**

* * *

I feel along the edges of the paper with my hands, as I hike back to the cave. All I do is pack the rest of the fox, and neatly fold the flyer into my backpack. The trees seemed to be a little greener, the sky a little bluer. This was my chance, my one and only chance. I walk down a pathway I never noticed before, and confidence rises in me. I pull my long hair back in a braid, thinking of my mother. _My mother….. Katniss? She does look like me, but maybe _everyone _in the strange land looks like me. But what about Peeta? He looks nothing like Katniss, or anything I remember about him… Golden hair? Like the sunshine? Is that possible? _I feel something hard under my foot, and I fall. I was too lost in my thoughts to notice a lot of pieces of paper, put together. _A book. _I remembered.

"The Hunger Games." I read out loud, and flinch. I remember that name too, but I don't know how. I sit on a stone and read a little bit of the first chapter. I get up after I finish reading the third chapter, knowing I shouldn't get distracted. I read about Prim, and another Katniss and Peeta. It must be a common name. I keep on walking, trying to pay no attention to the book, which is now tucked under my arm. I climb another tall tree, and try to see how far away the land is. Out of Boredom, I call that place the Capitol, inspired by the book. _The Capitol is close! _I assume my parents are in the Capitol, just assuming. After I climb down the mountain, then maybe I could ask for directions. Maybe they would know my mom, since there was a flyer with her picture on it. I could ask for Peeta, too.

I feel like I have a hole, deep inside me, but all these years I didn't know what to fill the hole with. Now, the hole is filled with hope. I hear my own footsteps, steady and clear, keeping a beat of the world. What do I have to lose? Hope can be dangerous. It can ruin your life. Maybe, once, my mom had hope in me. Maybe she had hope in herself. I keep on walking, and I feel the forests power inside of me, the open skies encouraging me to move on. I look at the sun, and I know someone out there is looking at it, too. Was that somebody my parents? The hole is completely filled now, overflowing with hope. I sit down, and read again. I skip some chapters, until it gets to the part when she's in the arena. It says that she used a bow and arrow, and at that, I close the book.

With my dagger, I start carving a bow from a log. It wasn't easy, but I had someone, instructing me in my head. I reiley on the book for directions, but a voice is telling me how. Suddenly, I drop the dagger and sit down. I didn't hurt myself, but I sat down to think. This was rare for me. _The voice. The song. _

_Are you, are you _

_Coming to the tree_

_Where they strung up a man they say murdered three._

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where the dead man called out for his love to flee._

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

I remember the song. I am drawing on Katniss's memory. I remember, before the shipwreck (_where was there water, to even be a ship in?_), a faint, yet sweet voice singing the same song. I remember how the mocking jays stopped to listen.

I stand and pick up my dagger. I continue to carve the bow, and the voice in my head keeps on guiding me. Soon, I am done. I pick up the bow in triumph, and decide I'll make the arrows later. I lie down in a patch of moss, and pull the blanket over my head.

"Bite me awake, if there's any danger." I tell a bug, and I hear it squeak a 'yes'. I've always been able to understand animals, and them understand me, but I haven't been using the power much. I had too much on my mind. The last thing I see before closing my eyes are the stars.


End file.
